Christopher Bailey champions LGBTQ+ communities in final collection for Burberry

London - Christopher Bailey, President and Chief Creative Officer at Burberry, will dedicate his final collection for luxury fashion house Burberry to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transexual and Queer (LGBTQ+) communities, as Burberry solidifies its commitment to promoting diversity around the world.

Bailey, who is set to leave his dual-roles at Burberry by the end of 2018, has incorporated a new rainbow check in support of LGBTQ+ communities across the heritage label’s February 2018 collection. “My final collection here at Burberry is dedicated to - and in support of - some of the best and brightest organisations supporting LGBTQ+ youth around the world,” said Christopher Bailey, Burberry President and Chief Creative Officer in a statement. “There has never been a more important time to say that in our diversity lies our strength, and our creativity.”

Burberry shows support for LGBTQ+ communities by launching new rainbow check

The new rainbow check, the latest iteration of Burberry’s iconic symbol, is based on the LGBTQ+ rainbow - an emblem for optimism and inclusiveness. The rainbow check is said to ‘feature prominently’ across Burberry’s upcoming collection, Bailey’s last collection for the heritage fashion brand, which will be unveiled during a catwalk show during London Fashion Week on Saturday, February 17th. All rainbow check pieces in the collection will be available for purchase immediately after the show in Burberry stores worldwide and online.

The introduction of the new rainbow check comes as Burberry continues to cement its support of LGBTQ+ communities. The luxury fashion house recently made a series of donations to three charities - the Albert Kennedy Trust, the Trevor Project and ILGA - which are all dedicated to helping spread awareness, mentoring and resources among these communities around the world. The Albert Kennedy Trust is the UK’s national LGBT+ youth homelessness charity, which provides safe homes to those in need, while the Trevor Project is the only accredited national organisation providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQ young people under the age of 25. The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) is a worldwide federation of organisations which strive for equal human rights for LGBTI people.

All three of the charities aim to use Burberry’s donations to support their ongoing work. “This generous donation will continue to empower efforts to raise the voices of and mobilise LGBTI people,” said Ruth Baldacchino and Helen Kennedy, co-Secretaries General of ILGA. “ It will help us to support activists as they advocate at the United Nations for repeals of discriminatory laws, equip and train LGBTI human rights advocates in Africa, Asia and Latin America to sustain movements in these regions, to help bring about societal change, and to research laws and attitudes impacting our communities, shining a spotlight on the unequal treatment LGBTI people face the world-over.”

Bailey, who has been credited with transforming Burberry into one of the industry’s leading luxury fashion houses, became the first openly gay head of a company listed on London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index when he was named Chief Executive Officer in 2014. However, sales began to stagnate under Bailey’s leadership following a period of rapid expansion and Burberry relived him of his dual role last year, appointing Marco Gobbetti, former head of Celine, as CEO.

Photo: Courtesy of Burberry